5-1: Skirmish
Metal tore against metal as Qrow brought his blade down on his target, scrap metal clattering uselessly onto the ground as the huntsman cleaved his way through the forearm of a metallic Ursa. Okay, metallic bear-robot that happened to look like an Ursa, but you get the idea. And as much as he'd love to say otherwise, that distinction was important. After all, these things were far more annoying to deal with than their normal grimm cousins, as the constructed monsters were much more durable than normal Ursai. It had taken Qrow a surprising amount of effort to cut his way through the thing's arm, even with his aura-strengthened blade.
This in itself was alarming, considering what Qrow knew of... well, convention. See, durable robots weren't exactly a rarity in Remnant, but things with silly amounts of armour tended to be far heavier and more unwieldy than your average grimm. But this thing that he was fighting against seemed to ignore that rule, able to keep up with the normal Ursai just fine as it blocked his blows with its heavy arms. Not that it was enough to stop him or anything, but this was still something noteworthy to the huntsman.
He was no stranger to robotics, given the stuff he's had to help Ozpin with, but even the best tin-can he'd encountered throughout his career didn't compare favourably to whatever it was he was currently fighting. Some of Atlas's new stuff might come close, sure, but those things were heavy walkers that were built out of alloys and dust, and probably strengthened further with someone's semblance or something.
...'Something', huh? Maybe that applied to more than just Atlas.
Qrow's attention shifted away from his target for just a moment, as he threw a glance back towards the armoured mummy. That thing was the weirdest part about this little skirmish, really; The whole reason why Qrow had revealed himself was because that Mummy had seemed intent on cleaving a certain Schnee apart. Yet, now it seemed content to hang back, its weapon having disappeared somewhere as it watched their little battle without another thought.
There was no doubt in Qrow's mind that the thing was intelligent, but what exactly was it? He didn't have any answers, except that the thing was dangerous. After all, the man was fairly certain that the armoured mummy had wiped out this White Fang base. Why else would the old town be in ruins, overrun with grimm and machines, with this strange structure in the center?
"Pay attention, you oaf!"
Before he could think further on the issue, Qrow was snapped from of his thoughts by a grating voice. This sudden shriek was quickly accompanied by the sight of his mechanical opponent's claw swipe, ripping through the air with surprising speed. Rather than be caught off guard, however, the huntsman merely shifted his stance, parrying the blow with his blade before lashing out with a silver flourish. And just like that, his opponent was permanently disarmed.
"... Damnit. I've been around Taiyang too long." The huntsman's tired voice pierced the air, letting out a sigh as he turned his attention back to his companion. "And I should say the same to you, Ice Queen."
"And just what do you mean by that?" It seemed that the huntress was too professional to huff, merely contenting herself by sending a simple glare to Qrow.
Then, as if on cue, the wall behind Winter parted, the massive gear rolling aside to reveal a passageway lined with Beowolves. That look of irritation on the Schnee quickly changed to one of disbelief as she threw an incredulous stare directly at the vagrant huntsman. Of course, he had no idea that was going to happen either, so he wasn't quite sure whether to call it blind luck, or blatant jinxing.
He was given his answer when the sound of groaning metal filled the room once again, as more walls rolled away to reveal more enemies. A howl echoed from the newly exposed corridors, as another wave of Boarbatusks and Ursai charged into the room, joining up with the growing horde of grimm and machines. Of course, the two professionals were trained huntsmen, and the simple addition of more grimm didn't exactly shake their resolve.
Which was why a much louder shriek echoed from the largest of the pathways.
"Huh." Qrow's eyes quickly fell on the source of the sound, his brow furrowing in mild annoyance as he watched a Deathstalker charge into the room. The fact that the creature had barreled over its kin did little to ease the man's concerns, and no amount of flying boarbatusks or beowolves changed the fact that things just got a lot more annoying. "... Wonder why that's here."
"Does it matter?" Winter quickly supplied her own quip, readying her blade once again as she began drawing a glyph on the ground. "Just keep it distracted for a few seconds. Preferably with your face."
That drew a chuckle from Qrow, turning away from the Deathstalker for just a moment to throw a sarcastic smirk at his impromptu partner. "That's some pretty wishful thinking, Ice Queen. I don't think grimm have the same tastes as you."
"What! Why you-"
"Just hurry up, Princess. I'll keep it distracted." Rather than listen to the rest of whatever she had planned to say, the black-haired scythe-wielder casually interrupted her, dismissing her words with a wave of his hand. An annoyed 'hmph' told him that the huntress wasn't appreciative of his actions, but the ensuing silence meant that she was actually ready to fight, so Qrow turned his attention back to the Deathstalker.
But, rather than the Deathstalker, it was the other grimm that decided to attack first, as a group of Boarbatusks rolled forward with a ravenous snarl.
Not that that was a problem for Qrow. If anything, it helped him immensely, as it provided the huntsman with a completely new tool to deal with the grimm. The five armoured grimm dashed forward, their reckless stampede staggered as they aimed for the black-haired warrior. However, their movements were blind and predictable, and the experienced huntsman quickly brought his weapon to bear.
A single massive cleave struck the frontmost beasts, fueled with aura and experience as the huntsman slashed at the grimm. Not that it was a clean cut or anything, but it didn't need to be; the sheer force of his attack was enough to stunt the charge, his weapon more than durable enough to resist something as simple as a boarbatusk. Instead, what gave way in that little engagement were the grimm themselves, their tusks shattering as they ground down to a halt.
This proved to be disadvantageous for the beasts, as the two boars in the back had maintained their momentum, colliding squarely against the creatures at the front. And now that the group was stopped and vulnerable?
Qrow's scythe quickly turned them from bone-plated monsters to mere grimmsmoke.
Rather than take note of his handiwork, however, the huntsman quickly turned his attention back to his partner. Of course, barely any time had passed, but the woman shouldn't need much time in the first place, should she? Unless she was doing something needlessly complicated with her glyphs or something.
Oh. That's exactly what she's doing.
"Dust? Really?" It was hard to miss the telltale glow of dust activating, and the black-haired huntsman momentarily slackened his stance as he turned his attention to her glyph. Not that he knew what she was doing, mind you, but the amount of dust she was throwing into her semblance probably meant that collateral damage would be a thing. And he was supposed to be decoy? "Yeah... I'll just stand over here."
Winter decided to answer him, not with her voice, but with her actions. The moment Qrow had finished his sentence, the woman's glyph activated, bathing the room in a blue light as a massive Ursa dragged itself into existence. More than just a simple summon, it seemed that the Atlesian Operative had decided to bolster her glyph's strength; Even from his position, Qrow could feel the aura had been poured into the creature, fueling it as the beast towered over its pitch-black cousins.
Oh, right. There was the dust, too. He didn't miss the icy mist that emanated from the summoned Ursa.
All it took was a simple gesture from Winter, and the ice-fueled summon charged forward into the throng of grimm. The beasts of destruction met the Ursa, of course, but they stood little chance against the beast. A Beowolf was the first to fall, as massive claws instantly tore the diminutive monster apart, the ice dust adding to the attack as a blade of frozen air lashed out at the monsters behind it.
Perhaps this little Deathstalker thing wouldn't be so annoying after-.
Before Qrow could even finish that thought, the sound of a distant bell echoed through the air.
"Sir!" All it took was the voice of the Bullhead pilot to snap the Veteran from his thoughts.
Against his better judgement, Jared had been stewing over a great deal of things ever since his little discussion with his redheaded subordinate. For the most part, the people under his charge ignored his sudden bout of reflection, as each of the young men and women were focused on their own thoughts. After all, In a few short moments, they'd be risking their lives for the sake of who-knows-what, fighting against a bunch of faunus who were either pushed too far, or pushed others too far over the edge.
This entire thing was a mess.
Incidentally, that was probably why the pilot had called him in the first place. The Veteran finally turned his attention to the front of the Bullhead, pocketing his scroll as he made his way up to the pilot's seat. Part of him wanted to know why he had been called, but that question quickly fell to the wayside as Jared's eyes fell to the horizon. Just as before, grimm seemed to flock to the skies, circling high above the White Fang encampment. However, their air fleet was more than equipped to take on errant Nevermores, as the transport bullheads were closer to gunships than air shuttles.
No... Something else caught their eye.
"...What the hell is that?"
The Veteran's voice was quiet as his eyes settled on the encampment. Yet, despite the distance, he could clearly see something that wasn't there before. It took only a few moments for the co-pilot to respond, passing a set of high-performance binoculars to the security officer.
"See for yourself."
That was all Jared needed, as he brought the device up to his eyes. All it took was a few button presses as a second of steady sight for the device to calibrate, and and the Veteran was rewarded with the sight of a distant structure. A single one.
"That's different." Despite his noncommittal words, the Veteran's tone was grave as he scanned the rest of the encampment. The device wasn't precise enough to see fine details, but the fact that most of the buildings were rubble, coupled with a constant flux of black forms in the fort's remains, were more than enough to paint the man a picture. "Bad different."
As if he needed to clarify. No doubt, only the actual soldiers and bots being transported remained ignorant of the fact that their destination was swamped in enough grimm to wipe out a fortified White Fang fortress.
"What are your orders, sir?" The pilot spoke up once more, his flight goggles masking the expression on his face. What his equipment hid, however, his voice revealed, as the pilot's tone wavered at the words. Of course, Jared noticed this, and quickly clasped his hand on the pilot's shoulder, almost slapping the man as he gave the pilot a reassuring shake.
Of course, the Veteran doubted that it was just this one pilot that was nervous. Without another word, he activated the radio, establishing a link with the rest of the wing.
"Orders still stand, flyboys. Don't know why you're all so nervous, though. Heck, you guys are trained to fight grimm in the first place, and in case you didn't notice, we've got enough explosives on two of these birds to light up those ruins." As if to cement his point, the Veteran gestured to the windows. This slight pause was more than enough to carry his tone, providing the perfect opportunity for his next words to sink in. "We're pushing twenty. You should all be worrying about ammo."
And with that, the Veteran made his way back to his seat. Sure, his words might not have been enough to completely dispel the tension, but it certainly went a long way to easing the pilots' worries... Still, they did nothing to assuage his own concerns. Just because they had enough guns to wipe out a grimm horde doesn't mean they had enough weapons to wipe out whatever the hell decided to take up residence at the fortress.
And he was certain something had moved in. After all... Grimm don't build. So what the hell's building in the middle of the ruins? What he wouldn't give to have a scout in the area.
"... Wait a minute."
Realization dawned on the Veteran, and he quickly pulled out his Scroll once more, intent on contacting a certain Atlesian Operative.
Nox was... in two minds about his situation.
After all, that white-clad local had decided to do something that... disrupted his operations. And that was putting it politely. If he had to be less polite and more frank about the effect, the Xelor would've gone into a few exotic curses about how the foolish woman had come this close to destabilizing the stored Wakfu. That, by itself, wouldn't have been a problem as it would've naturally flowed back into the Xelor.
However, that little failsafe only applied when the Wakfu was pure, and at the moment, the Wakfu contained inside his dial was anything but pure, as he had completely saturated it with the crystallized powder fueled. Unfortunately, Nox was fairly uncertain as to what would've happened if the Wakfu had been destabilized while maintaining that form, but... experience told him that elemental fire was prone to violent explosions.
Thankfully, that hadn't happened, so the altercation had only left Nox feeling furious, rather than utterly wrathful. Not that he wasn't edging towards that particular mood, given the sudden interference of the second local. He was fairly certain that this black-haired individual was an associate of the white-garbed woman, given their communication, which was more than enough to antagonize the two.
And he would've done that, had the two individuals not proven themselves useful to his studies. Truly, the people of this world enjoyed helping him as much as they did thwarting him. However, both locals seemed to be eager to showcase their particular brand of this world's mysterious power. And they had good reason to.
After all, the power in these two far exceeded the masked people he currently had in confinement.
The black-haired man seemed to wreathe himself in the power; by itself, this action wasn't too unique. What was unique, however, was the sheer concentration and refinement of the system. Unlike Subjects #1-4, who merely wore the light as a shell, this black-haired man seemed to wield it as a literal part of himself. Honestly, if Nox was to make a comparison, the man's control over this power was almost as impressive as a Sadida's control over plants.
The second local was equally insightful, as she seemed to enjoy focusing the power into a more tangible form, creating white doppelgangers of those shadow beasts. Sure, he had spotted that phenomenon a few times before, but each subsequent observation only told Nox more about the process. So, obviously, he'd have induce more scenarios to observe such an event.
Nox willed the walls to part, revealing the shadow beasts that lay beyond. Almost instantly, the wild beasts turned their attention to the two locals. Unfortunately, these ones had not yet acclimated to the Xelor, so they were worse than feral animals, charging recklessly forward towards his two observation targets.
Not that that was a problem or anything.
The black-haired individual quickly dispatched the boars that had rushed forward, giving Nox a perfectly acceptable view of the man's blade. Rather than question the practicality of a scythe, Nox remained fixed on how much the mysterious power had melded with the weapon, as though it were forged into the blade. Yet, the moment the local had relaxed, the energy disappeared. It was a shame nothing else was available to challenge the subject.
"... Oh, who am I kidding? You know what's next, right Igole?" Nox's voice was quiet, and completely ignored the fact that the leashed shadow wolf wasn't even in the same room as him. Perhaps there was some disadvantage to being constantly linked to his Noxines.
Nah. That was ludicrous. After all, if he didn't have access to his Noxines, then the Xelor wouldn't have known that a shadow scorpion was making its way to the group until... now.
A screech signaled the arrival of the gargantuan arachnid, its claws almost dragging along the ground as it charged through a few of the smaller beasts. It was almost entertaining, but a sudden snap in the air stole Nox's attention away from the rampaging beast.
Never one to disappoint, the white-clad woman activated her mysterious power once more, this time mixing it with some of her powder fuel. Once again, she began introducing completely new elements to the process, and the Xelor watched with rapt attention as the powder began mixing with the energy. His lens focused, examining the faint nuances as the powder mixed with the energy. By itself, that phenomenon was something he was familiar with, as he had seen it in his Test Subjects before.
However, what came next was something completely new, as the two powers seemed to merge into one new one, almost acting as a catalyst that...
...Wait. That wasn't new either. He had seen something like that before, except it was Wakfu and the powder fuel.
Interesting.
The white-clad woman's ability soon resolved itself, drawing forth an ivory bear wrapped in pure ice. Nox could see the vestiges of ice powder-fuel clinging to the artificial creature, opening a completely new avenue of research for the Xelor.
So, what better way to explore it than to attempt to replicate the process?
Nox activated his Dial once more, this time invoking the Red Powder-Crystal contained within. Part of him wanted to test this next step with pure Wakfu... but the Dial was still cracked, and he didn't want to risk destablizing the energy further by separating the Wakfu from powder. So, he decided to use the modified energy instead, pulling it out into him before focusing it into a single point.
Where was that point, you may ask? Well, the foolish woman had decided to create an icy bear to defy him. So, obviously, Nox had to counter with a fiery scorpion instead. The Xelor focused his power on the gargantuan shadow beast.
It roared.
A/N: Apologies for the late update. Complications came up, but things should be easing back into a schedule now.